Wilde increases holdings in Southampton

Michael Wilde, the non-executive chairman of housing developers Merlion, has increased his holdings to 13 percent in Southampton Leisure, the stock market listed company that owns the Championship club. Wilde, who is now the largest shareholder in excess of 10 percent, can call an extraordinary general meeting and propose resolutions that, could allow votes to remove directors from their positions. Wilde made no statement about his intentions.

Representatives of the newly formed Supporters Trust for the club, The Saints Trust met Wilde who has agreed to proxy the voting rights to the 60,000 shares, about 0.2%, he owns via his company.

This news takes the number of shares available to the Trust via proxy to 156,767 (about 0.6%) a figure reached in just a month since the creation of the Trust in February. Wilde had previously contacted the Trust Steering Committee in the summer of 2005, following a successful Open Meeting, and registered his support for the new venture.

Earlier, local businessman Andrew Strode-Gibbons addressed about 600 Southampton fans, telling them that he was putting together a consortium to take over the financially struggling club to get rid of current chairman Rupert Lowe. Strode-Gibbons refused to reveal any of the names involved in the proposed consortium because of legal reasons. However, he said he would not be buying the club and any members of the consortium would be fans of the club.

After the stock purchase, in which Wilde was not initially named as the buyer, a spokesman for Wilde issued a statement clarifying his position. “Wilde wishes to stress he is acting alone. He has no connection with Andrew Strode-Gibbons,” the statement read. Wilde was an economics lecturer late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1991, he started a real estate company that offered affordable housing with an emphasis on minimizing bureaucracy. “He has purchased these shares as a long-standing fan of Southampton Football Club,” the statement continued. “He is a committed supporter and his interest is in the long-term success and future of the club. Any future plans will be with that objective in mind.”

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.